Are the Aberdeen Wings the best team in junior hockey?

 Is it possible in this unprecedented season the best team in junior hockey is the Aberdeen Wings? 

It’s hard to argue otherwise. While the USHL played a relatively normal season, the Canadian major junior and junior A leagues struggled to get in what amounted to a short exhibition season, largely for scouting purposes. 

And then there’s Aberdeen. If there is a record in the North American Hockey League they did not break, better double check and be sure. They went an incredible 51-4-0-1, breaking NAHL records in a single season for points with 103 and wins with 51. The league’s leading scorer was Aberdeen’s Payton Matsui with 66 points in 56 games. Right behind him was teammate Clayton Cosentino with 61 points. 

And while the Odde Ice Center is filled to its 1,700 capacity virtually every night, the team can win with or without their home crowd. In fact they are 24-3-0-1 at home and an outstanding 27-1-0-0 on the road. Goalie Jake Sibell led the league by nearly a goal against per game, posting a minuscule 1.19 goals against and an astonishing .952 save percentage in 47 games, earning himself a scholarship to Division I Niagara University. 

Did someone mention scholarships? Two players came to this year’s team with D-1 scholarships in their pocket, but another 11 earned D-1 scholarships during the season. In fact, every commitment from an Aberdeen player was to a D-1 school. In addition, two former Wings committed this season, including Jake Beaune, who spent this season with Lincoln in the USHL.

The Wings come out with a total dominance every night. They do not rely on any one facet of the game, but rather come out with all guns blazing, driving to the net, hitting everything in sight, not shying away from the physical play, and normally having the game wrapped up midway through the first period. USHL fans who remember the 1996-97 Lincoln Stars have an idea of what this feels like, right down to a very supportive crowd that spends half the game on their feet. 

If there is one criticism, it would be from those who point out the NAHL, like the USHL, had virtually no inter division play this year. But that can be turned around by pointing out Aberdeen plays in the Central Division, which typically rivals the South Division as the NAHL’s strongest. 

Need more statistical evidence? Aberdeen led the league in goals per game with 4.48 and in goals against at 1.34 (more than a goal less per game than any other NAHL team), they led all power plays at 26.3% and penalty killing at 92.3%, they led in shots with 38.38 per game and shots against with 24.88. 

The stats tell one story, but watching this team tells a greater story. It is a team filled with skill, size, and physicality, but they play every night as if their season depends on winning that game. And the road to the Robertson Cup is not free of potholes, especially with teams like the Shreveport Mudbugs, the Lone Star Brahmas, and the Johnstown Tomahawks all posting impressive seasons. 

But after watching Aberdeen a few times, you are hooked. The energy and enthusiasm is infectious. The stats are ridiculous. The crowd is outstanding. And you start to get the feeling that on any given night, this team could compete with any team, anywhere, in any league.

And even if that is a stretch, it’s not a stretch to say they are the best team the NAHL has ever seen. Does that make them the best team in junior hockey this year? There is no quantitative answer to that question. But in one game or one series, I’m not sure I’d bet against them.